Family Travel and Adventure Blog

Category: Road Trip Europe

After an amazing seventeen days exploring some of Europe’s greatest hits in 2017, our family of four can’t wait to get back to “the continent”. So, for the summer of 2019 we’ll be packing our Osprey backpacks and hitting the road for fourteen days through some of Europe en reprieve.

Seven years ago, fresh off surgeries, ambulance rides, ICU treatments, and a year that would not give an inch, my husband and I took a pause to travel through Italy with his family – a trip that we are still talking about with awe and wonder. The central element of that trip – three days in Florence. So, naturally, my Brunelleschi-loving husband, and his Botticelli-adoring wife could think of only one city that they couldn’t wait to visit again with our two sons in tow — Florence!

The itinerary: one afternoon, a full day, and one long morning. But, first, we have to get there from Cinque Terre.

Packing for Europe with a family of four is naturally a challenge. But, a two week trip through three countries, six hotels, and an overnight train, our packing will need to be done in a way that supports “backpacking” meaning light weight, and streamlined – which will prove even more challenging. That in mind we plan to take the Rick Steves approach: pack everything up, put it on your back, and head downtown for an hour to find out if the weight is too much.

Travelling by myself, I would not dedicate two precious vacation days to Normandy. I am neither a history buff, nor a fan of the road trip. But, with a husband and two boys – it seems no trip to Europe would be complete without a little war (literally, historically, & metaphorically) of various interests. So, I’ve tried to build out an itinerary that combined things I enjoy – quaint villages, wine, charming architecture – with things they’ll enjoy. Normandy will keep off our European adventure with a day of beaches and Mont-Saint-Michel, followed by a day of Memorial Museums and the charming city of Rouen.